Problems with 2001 Honda Civic POWER TRAIN

The transmission on my honda 2001 civic failed despite my regular service and maintenance schedule at honda certified service centers. i am the only owner of the car and can vouch for its top maintenance and oil changes,etc. you expect this not to happen at 88700 miles for a new honda civic. driving home from work and the car would not accelerate. pulled over and called aaa. *tr

No warning tranny failed at 89640 miles on my daughter's 2001 honda civic. she was stranded in the middle of the highway & almost got struck by another vehicle. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. while driving 70 mph for a period of 12 miles, the vehicle began to down-shift to 20 mph. he could not accelerate to his intended speed. the vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 120000.

One month ago, 8-14-09, i had my transmission flushed and the fluid replaced. on 9-11-09, the check engine light went on while driving on the freeway. less than 15 minutes later the transmission failed. mileage: 150,000 miles. *tr

My wife was driving our 2001 honda civic (with only 98,000 miles on it) home on the interstate and noticed some slipping as the gears were trying to shift. she managed to get off the highway and coast to a safer location. i then had it towed to honda where they quoted me a repair price which, even with their "goodwill" offering, was still $700 more expensive than the place i ended up with. i waited and waited for the repairs to be completed but found out that there were no transmissions available in the whole country, for about 8-10 weeks i waited for a transmission just to find out that if i had kept the car at the original honda location they would have had a transmission available (very mysterious why they wouldn't release any to other places then). in any case, a transmission was finally released to the outside company and the repairs were made...just to find out that it would lock in 4th gear and would have to be ditched. three months of waiting and aggravation and still no result. honda does not seem to care whatsoever and in spite of hundreds of complaints by other civic owners (very, very similar stories) at hondaproblems.com there have been no recalls for the civic transmission, claiming this is not a safety issue. i believe my wife driving on the interstate with a bad transmission is a safety issue and honda should most certainly issue a recall as they have done for some of their other lines, e.g. the odyssey and the accord. please help!! *tr

The transmission on my honda civic 2001 lx with 58,000 miles failed despite regular maintenance at the honda dealer. unfortunately the rebuilt honda transmission is plagued by the same issues and i suspect that the future is not bright. at this writing, honda has not agreed to reimburse me for the repairs. *cn

I just bought this 2001 honda civic 1 week ago. it has 54,715 miles on it. like a new car. 1 week later i am stuck on the side of the road. i have it towed to honda & they tell me transmission failure. this car is basically brand new. come to find out i'm not alone in this complaint. almost every review i have read for the 2001 honda civic is transmission failure. this needs to be the honda top priority recall!! i am outraged! *tr

I have a 2001 honda civic that i keep very maintained never had a problem with this car before and i was driving on a highway when got off the exit i was at the stop sign when i tried to take off from the vehicle would not move...would not shift gears...completely stalled... i got it towed to a shop nearby and the mechanic told me that this is happening to all 2001 hondas civic in between 70,000 and 125,000 miles...my car only has 114,000 miles....called honda and they are not willing to help....i need help!!!! and on this web site alone there is 142 complaints about the same problem...honda should be responsible for this....on the internet i found almost 440 complaints about the same problem same year same descriptions of problem.. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. while driving less than 55 mph, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle was pushed off of the highway to safety and was able to be restarted; however, it would not accelerate or shift into gear. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. the current and failure mileages were less than 126,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph he noticed that the vehicle started to loose power and slow down. the vehicle would then accelerate and shift into gear on its own. he also noticed that the check engine light illuminated when the failure occurred. the vehicle was taken to a local repair shop and inspected where it was determined that the transmission was failing. he was given an estimate of 1300.00 to 2700.00 to make the repairs. no repairs have been made. the contact called the manufacturer and was informed that because the vehicle was not under warranty no compensation would be offered. the failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 117,000.

While driving up a hill, the car's torque converter failed without warning causing the car to lose power to the wheels. i subsequently had to coast off the road to safety while being passed by traffic. the torque converter had to be replaced at a cost of about $2500. *tr

Major transmission design problem for all 2001 honda civic models. well-known problem but honda corporate failed to take the responsibility to do a safety recall all the defective models for appropriate transmission replacement. risk for consumers and the safety of others. already filed a formal complaint with honda corporate (1-800-999-1009) requesting a goodwill repair for settlement but still waiting for response. i will be very appreciate if nhtsa could assist with this matters. thanks!

My 2001 honda civic (88,400) began to make a whining noise in january 2009. i had several people (including a honda dealership and a toyota dealership) look at the car to find the source of the noise, and i asked each technician to look specifically at the transmission, but every report told me that nothing was wrong with my car. the most recent check on my car was performed a week ago (4/28/09). then, a week later, my transmission failed. while there were no accidents, there easily could have been, as i had just been on the highway, and suddenly my car would not shift into third gear. i can't imagine what would have happened at a higher speed or in a higher gear, and i don't want to. i drove it straight to a dealership and discovered that my transmission needs to be entirely replaced. i know that i am not alone in having a honda civic with a transmission that failed much too early (and after eight years of conscientious upkeep) because there are plenty of complaints to be found on various websites. this is a dangerous problem -- i could easily have crashed or been rear-ended because my car would not accelerate properly. thank you for your attention. *tr

1. check engine light, slipping of gear shifting and/or not accelerating properly 2. transmission failure 3. replaced transmission at a honda dealership (rick roush). *tr

I own a 2001 honda civic ex, the cars from that period have defective torque converters that can 'shatter' causing instant loss of power.. car dumped my daughter 400 miles from home in l.a. yesterday, dead transmission had no clue that there was such a massive problem with hundreds of complaints posted to the one web site i visited! what?s really sick is that if it is mostly a torque converter failure, there is really nothing too mechanical about them. the only thing that can go wrong with them is if the materials used to make the propellers and transfer spline are substandard. i realize that now that you may be looking for more direct causal of serious accidents, however a sudden unexpected loss of forward motion can be as dangerous as total brake failure, and is a very real safety issue. *tr

Car was driving fine (regular maintenance) and yesterday it would not pick up speed and had to be towed in to the dealer who informed today that the transmission was gone and needs replacing. this is a 2001 honda civic with 73k miles on it and is out of its extended warranty. have contacted american honda company to see if they will do a goodwill repair on the car. *tr

April 11, 2009 i was driving on 1-75 on alligator alley when out of nowhere my car transmission failed. i have 55,000 miles on my car and take immaculate care of it. i have service doc's to reflect this. what happened to me was incredibly dangerous. i could have been killed. the car was going 75-80 mph and then suddenly the service engine light went on and the car just wouldn't work. it was 92 degrees out in the middle of alligator alley. i think its pretty clear this is a safety issue and the 2001 hondas should be recalled. its at the dealer in davie and i don't think its fair that i should have to repair my crankshaft and transmission. this is a defect honda is well aware of. in fact, they recalled the odyssey, prelude, accord but not the civic for the same problem. its '!@#$%. i almost got killed and was left completely stranded and car only has 55,000 miles on it. so far nothing has been done. the dealership doesn't call me back. they laughed saying i will probably have to trade it in. well i am not laughing. this is not something that is fair. they need to pay for this and recall the car. this is a very expensive repair and the dealer told me it was clear that the parts were defective. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. while driving 70 mph, the service engine light flashed on and off and the vehicle began to shake, decelerate, and smoke. the contact found numerous complaints for this year, make, and model vehicle; however, there was no recall. the contact feels that the vehicle is unsafe due to the transmission, and the manufacturer should be responsible for the repairs since there are several complaints about the vehicle. the failure and current mileages were 55,304. updated 05/06/09. *lj updated 05/07/09.*jb

On april 7, car began having trouble shifting gears. that evening on the way to the mechanic, the transmission gave out in the middle of the street (45mph speed limit). mechanic informed me that it was the clutch and torque converter that failed. will cost $2500 to fix. from internet search this is a very common problem for 2001 honda civic's with automatic transmissions. *tr

I bought a honda civic 2001 recently and two days back the check engine light went up. when i got it checked today, i found its a transmission related error code, it seems to be a common problem with 2001 honda civic. i took the car to a honda service center and they advice me a transmission replacement for about $3500. honda should really do something about this common problem. *tr

My 2001 honda civic has only 68,000 miles on it. i drive conservatively and perform regular maintenance. the car's transmission suddenly died completely on a major road in traffic. it was towed to a repair facility that diagnosed the problem. honda denies there is a problem with 2001 civic transmissions but i have seen other evidence that this is a widespread problem. it is very dangerous. *tr

2001 honda civic. transmission failure. i was driving on the freeway and the transmission failed. with no transmission i had no power and had to pull over. this happened over a year ago. the reason that i am complaining now is that 5 months later the flex plate broke. i was online looking for an owner's manual for my car and the first 3 pages related to transmission failures. one suggested that it was related to the flex plate. after the flex plate broke, the honda mechanic suggested that the flex plate was unrelated (but did offer a 10% discount). the transmission going when driving is dangerous. not fixing it properly extends that danger. *tr

When my civic was at roughly 98,000 miles, the check engine light came on and stayed on. i had round rock honda inspect the vehicle, and they informed me that the car was giving off a p0740 code, which denotes internal transmission failure. as such, they recommended an entirely new transmission. the service advisor informed me that this replacement would cost roughly $3,000, and i had to wait several weeks for a new transmission to arrive. in that time, i got a second opinion from an independent, highly reputable honda mechanic. he confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced, and that the torque converter clutch was ruined and had burned up the fluid. he further informed me that this is a common problem in honda transmissions from the early 2000's, especially from 2001 civics. my transmission was eventually replaced, at a cost of $1467.48. after doing a little research, i've discovered that there are hundreds of complaints from honda civic owners for this very problem. indeed, technical service bulletins have been out for years regarding this issue. given honda's reputation for reliability, i find it extremely unusual that the transmission died this early in the life of the car. internet message boards abound with stories of civic owners from subsequent model years who received partial or total refunds for transmission failures. since subsequent model years shared the same 1.7 liter engine and the parts are virtually identical, i believe that my case warrants investigation as a manufacturer defect. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. after starting the vehicle, it began to hesitate and would not shift past second gear or 20 mph. the engine would rev very loudly, but the vehicle would not move. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the transmission needed to be replaced. through online research, she found numerous complaints regarding the same defect. the vehicle has not yet been repaired. the current and failure mileages were 155,000.

I am pretty sure this has come here a couple of times. this has to do with honda early civics mainly 2001 transmissions going out at low miles in highways intersections and just starting up. my car is showing signs of a failing transmission and has fail to shift once before while turning on a traffic filled street. on http://www.carcomplaints.com/honda/civic/2002/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml there are people complaining about there cars breaking down by driving on the highway with 40000 miles on there car. i know how dangerous being stopped in the middle of a highway can be with the rise of an accident. this isnt just one or two cars. this is hundreds stopping in highways and intersections and i am waiting to be next on the highway. i can not afford to fix a transmission that has a factory problem. this mostly likely has clause crashes and will clause more. i am afraid to drive my car every time i get into it. i drive in city areas where people don't pay attention and will nail me if my car dies no question. i am just hoping honda will take responsibility and recall faulty transmissions that's will cost someone there life if it hasn't. thank you for your time and please read what these people have said about there car on this web site. this just is not safe to have dead cars on the road. and my seat belts don't work for the passenger or drive seat without having to slam them in there and pop out a couple of times. *tr

I was driving and pulled off the highway and as i started to accelerate from a stop light my car failed to shift. the car was revving but did not go past 10-15 miles. luckily my destination wasn't far and i made it. upon inspecting the car i felt as though something was wrong with the transmission and that was causing the car not to shift properly. the car is a 2001 honda civic. i did some research on the internet and found that it was a common problem among my vehicle. is there anything honda will do for me? *tr

Traveling 60 mph in the middle lane on the nj garden state parkway, my 2001 honda civic lost power due to transmission failure. when i tried to accelerate, the engine raced but there was no power to move the vehicle. suddenly there was a surge of power which caused my car to go into a spin. i missed hitting 3 cars as my car came to rest on the shoulder. hundred of similar complaint of failed honda civic transmissions can be found on http://www.carcomplaints.com/honda/civic/2001/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml how many complaints have been filed with the nhtsa? class action suits have been filed and won against honda for 2001 accords, odysseys and acura because of a defective transmission. the nhtsa should have this car recalled. i almost got into a serious accident because of the transmission failure. living in a syndical world, and seeing the billions stolen by bankers, i wonder if honda is paying off someone at the nhtsa to ignore this safety hazard. television stations, my congressman and senator will receive a copy of this complaint. again i was almost in a serious crash do to the transmission failure. do your job and get a recall on this situation before someone gets killed! *tr

Our 2001 honda civic transmission went out while my husband was driving the car home from work. he suddenly lost all power. luckily, it was not on a very busy street, because he barely was able to pull over. this easily could have caused a collision if the street were a busier one. *tr

From time to time the transmission would jerk really hard but not often. then finally in 3/2009 without warning the transmission(after a visit to the honda tech with no problems noted) it came to a halt when i attempted to take of when i received a green light. the car bucked when i took off and then came to a complete halt which almost resulted in a rear-end accident; the car behind me almost hit me. i called honda headquarters explained to them i was the only owner, can show service records and can take my car to the dealer to confirm the transmission failed because it was faulty and that i cam not alone with this problem. they were not inclined to help me on any level and refuse to accept the liability of putting a defective car on the road. a good reference site is carcomplaints.com it outlines how egregious this offense is for the 2001 honda civic transmissions. a recall is way over due! *tr

Vehicle started slipping its transmission. initially vehicle was not moving more than 20 mph even at 3000 rpm on expressway with 45 mph speed limit. finally vehicle stopped on the road. it was not moving on drive or reverse mode. there was no difficulty to turn on or off engine. vehicle has only 71100 miles. transmission oil was flushed and refilled when 60k service was performed at dealership. *tr

Check engine light on in '01 civic lx with 66k miles. error code p0740 (torque clutch converter). honda recommended replacing the transmission. my opinion is that no modern car should have a transmission repair at 66k miles. after much research, my conclusion is that there is a problem with the transmission on most '01 civics and honda is doing nothing to rectify the situation. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. while driving between 5-10 mph on normal road conditions, there was unexpected gear failure. the driver was unable to move the shift lever out of gear. immediately, the check engine warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and remained lit until the engine was turned off. the vehicle was inoperable and manually pushed to a nearby authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the transmission and gear ratio failed. the vehicle is currently inoperative and has not been repaired. the failure and current mileages were 76,000.

The check engine light came on 2 days ago on my 2001 honda civic lx. my dealer said it is a transmission problem (needs torque converter) and will cost over $1700. i suspect that honda has premature transmission failure on this model and do not think i should pay for this repair even though the warranty expired on this 4,000 miles ago. i currently have 84,000 miles. *tr

Transmission suddenly blew while driving the car. the car would not accelerate past 20 mph. almost rear-ended as a result. pulled along side of road and called my mechanic (who gave it a once over the month before and said all looked ok) to come take a look at it. confirmed the transmission was at fault. there was no previous indication (light, slippage) that there was anything wrong with the car. *tr

I complained in oct, 2007, about our 2001 honda civic having transmission failure at 100,000 miles. we paid $2,598.34 to have a rebuilt trans installed. much to our surprise, the same thing has happened in january, 2009, 1 year and 3 months later. in both cases, the car came to a an unexpected standstill on a highway which we considered very dangerous. of course the honda place won't stand behind it. what are we to do? keep replacing transmissions? we believe that the transmissions for honda civic 2001 are all dangerous. we ask that you look into this please. we can barely afford to stay on top of our budget now, much less to afford another transmission. we are just lucky that traffic was light on the roads both times; otherwise it would have been more dangerous. please help us to figure out what to do. pauline and robert alley *tr

Transmission just die while drive. engine will rev but car will not move. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda civic. while driving 30 mph, the vehicle failed to move forward when the accelerator pedal was depressed. when the contact stopped the vehicle to make a left turn, the engine continued to run, but the vehicle would not accelerate. the vehicle was towed to a dealer and they stated that the transmission failed and needed to be repaired at the cost of $4,000. the failure was not covered under warranty; therefore, the contact would be responsible for the repair costs. there were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel prior to the failure; however, immediately after the failure, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. the failure mileage was 72,000.

I am filing this complaint on behalf of honda civic drivers everywhere. it is very clear from doing research that there is an inherent problem with the honda civic 2001-2003 transmission. from speaking to professionals who have been rebuilding honda transmissions for years, it is a problem with materials flaking off the torque converter and the clutch clogging things up. i drive at 2001 honda civic and the p0740 error code has come up, but the car is still running fine, but until i get the transmission supposedly repaired i will not be able to pass aircare even though my emissions are perfectly above average. incidents vary from total transmission failure while driving on a high, stalls, to accidents. if you just google search 2001-2003 honda civic transmission you can see for yourself. i can understand that wear and tear over-time does happen, but it is clear that this is not a coincidence and feel that honda should bear some of the responsibility for building a faulty transmission. *tr

My husband and i took over the car from his aunt in 10/2005, at 56,020 miles. the car has been well taken care with periodic oil changes and some maintenance. on 12/22/2008, when it was of 82,409 miles, the check engine light was on. this time we did pay some amount for other services but due to financial hardship could not pay for the torque converter replacement, as advised at kolbe honda at reseda. after the service performance, the check engine light was off. however, on 6/15/2009, we had no choice but to replace the car's transmission and torque converter for $690.69 (on the 70/30 split). *tr

One day my automatic transmission had some issues shifting gears and there was a noise coming from the front end when starting the car. after the car was warm, it didn't seem to be as big of an issue. this happened for a few days and one day driving home, it just died. i had it towed to a local transmission shop and before the mechanic took a look at it he mentioned the torque converters going bad in the 2001 civics. same in my case and oil leaked into the transmission. only a few parts were able to be saved so he is rebuilding the rest for $2300. i filed a complaint with honda but from what others have said it does no good. something needs to be done. there are so many similar stories out there. carcomplaints.com is loaded with them. *tr

I have a 2001 honda civic lx with standard transmission. over the past week, the transmission seemed to take a little longer to engage, especially in the mornings. throughout the day, the transmission shifted into gears better, so i thought i had some time to get it serviced. yesterday, the problem got significantly worse. it took several seconds for the for the transmission to shift gears. after about 20 minutes of driving, the transmission wouldn't shift at all. fortunately, i was in a friend's apartment parking lot when this happened. after that, i was only able to drive the car in reverse. the gears would not engage in d, d2, and d3. i just called the honda dealership that sold me this auto, and they told me that a 7-year, 100k extended warranty was issued for honda 2001 accords, but that this warranty does not apply to honda civics. *tr

Transmission on 01 honda civic failed at 120000 mi. because the dipstick on top of the transmission became loose and let water and dirt enter the trans. and contaminate the oil, causing failure of the automatic transmission. honda service rep. said the oil should be replaced at 120000 mi. the oil in this transmission was replaced at 115000 mi. ( we do have tickets to that fact) honda says because i sold this car to my 17 year old grandson, they will not help at all with the repair . this is not right because the dipstick is a bad design. *tr

2001 honda civic; transmission issues that caused the car to loose power and stop. if this happened on the highway at 55mph my wife would have been in a dangerous situation. honda knows about this issue and refuse to take responsibility. *tr

My 2001 honda civic was purchased new by my husband and i. we have not had mechanical issues with it until now. it has 106,000 miles on and just suddenly stopped running on the side of the road. the transmission is out. the cost of repair is approx. $2000, that's with a rebuild transmission. i have read multiply complaints about this same problem and wonder if it is a trend. can anything be done by honda to help with the cost of repair? the car is in the process of being repaired now. we have had it in the shop for two weeks. it has taken that long to come up with the money. *tr

I own a 2001 civic lx with approx 120k miles. recently the transmission, over the course of one week, stopped functioning. i had the car towed to a mechanic and the transmission need to be replaced. sounds like a very common problem on civics. if you also have had a similar problem. *tr

With no warning at all and luckily after exiting interstate 10, my honda civics transmission started slipping out of gear, feeling like it was going into neutral, until it finally could not move. i coasted to the side of the road and called a tow truck to take me home. prior to writing this complaint i did some research and came across multiple sites (including honda) that states that these honda civics have known problems with their transmissions. this is obviously a manufacturer defect and a recall should be requested before someone dies unnecessarily. i am appalled that honda (who is fully aware of this defect) does not initiate a recall to correct this obvious defect in these transmissions. is there a certain number of people that have to die in order for them to do something? i think the nhtsa has an obligation to the people of the usa to force a recall since it's obvious a problem exists here! until now, i had a different impression of honda...built to last? except for your transmission! *tr

Check engine light came on at 110000 in 2005, at the dealership they said it was transmission and catalytic converter. the car drove fine until october 2008, same problem was diagnosed. it has 163000 now, it still drives but barely. if i stop, the car wouldn't pick up speed, just revs up. mechanics say transmission failure is a common problem on 2001 civics. honda needs to issue a recall, there are hundreds of complaints here and other sites. i've had 2 hondas before and none of them had any problems. this is not a maintenance issue, but a manufacturing defect. honda surely lost its quality and reliability. *tr

The car would hesitate when attempting to accelerate. on the incident date, the car would not accelerate at all. *tr

Automatic trans failed while driving in september of 08. had a used transmission put in, due to lack of funds for a brand new one. *tr

Yesterday i was driving down a very busy stretch of i-680 in the walnut creek, california area. my car was working perfectly when all of a sudden my 2001 honda civic ex at (with only 65,000 miles) slipped out of gear, essentially into neutral. i was unable to get back into gear and had to navigate over 3 lanes of rush hour traffic and coast to the side of the freeway. luckily i was able to make it to the side of the road without causing any accidents, although it did back up traffic. to top things off, i didn't have a cell phone and was stranded. as it turns out my transmission failed. after doing a quick google search i learned that this is a major problem with this year/model honda. on http://www.carcomplaints.com/honda/civic/2001/transmission/transmission_failure.shtml there are 200 people reporting the same problem. many people weren't so lucky and this problem has caused numerous accidents. i am very disappointed and feel this should problem should be addressed! *tr